Robin Mather

The Feast Nearby contains all the things I like in a memoir: a woman in the midst of some major life crises (her husband asked her for a divorce and she lost her job all in the same week), an element of budgeting and simple living by necessity, and recipes! She did lose a bit of credibility when she went on about "retreating to her small Michigan cabin." Really, how bad could it be if you've got a little cabin all squared away for retirement I wondered? But I digress...She imposes a strict limit on her grocery budget of just $40 a week and tries to have as much of it as possible be locally sourced, but not necessarily organic.

Forty dollars a week is a stretch no matter what you do these days, so reading about her method and reasoning seemed fantastic. Having shunned the freezer for a number of years, I have only just come round to the idea that the freezer is your friend and can save you not only time, but a little dosh as well. Of course it will save you nothing without the planning and preparation, so that is what I found most helpful about this book. Ms. Mather goes through the year in seasons and has some simple pleasing recipes to use the foods now as well as preserving them for future use. She shows that it is indeed possible to live the good life while enjoying the bounty of nature on a budget.… (meer)